In our last installment, I showed you pictures of my new kitchen. And promised you more. Well, those pictures have yet to be taken, must less posted, but I did host my first party in our new house this weekend: my bachelorette party. The b-lette included such foods as cupcakes from Kickass Cupcakes in Somerville (very good, especially the super dark chocolate frosting), cookies of unmentionable shapes, and my new favorite snack food, pita chips (I especially love the cinnamon sugar and the sea salt, and hope to try the Tuscan herb next). The b-lette after leaving my house included delicious tapas, sangria, and sparkling rose.
My wedding is in 19 days, but I prefer to think of it as the number of items left on my to-do list away, which currently is 41 things (I must be forgetting something). I had great plans to blog about my wedding planning, which I thought would be great to have, and read over later, but I've done a horrendous job of keeping it up. I guess I was a bit busier than I expected.
Lately, though, instead of thinking of wedding and planning and assembling programs and wrapping gifts and writing thank you notes, I'm bookmarking and printing out recipes.... recipes to make after the wedding, when I have time! Is that bad?
Some examples:
gumdrops
baklava
fried ice cream (assuming we get the deep fryer off our registry)
bread- just bread in general.
And I'm looking forward to eating cheese fondue again- I haven't had it in 7 months, which I'm sure is the main reason my predicted-to-be-too-small wedding dress is too big.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Oh, by the way...
I moved! I guess I forgot to mention that.
Our move has all the usual closing date frustration and utilities not working, which I could share, but the only pertinent bit about our house is
I HAVE MY OWN KITCHEN.
It's a lovely kitchen. The appliances are all fairly new (extremely new and fancy and shiny, compared to my condo), there is a decent amount of storage space (the pantry's paltry, but we can work around it), and I have an island. Oh, how I love islands. Regular countertops tend to be fairly shallow, and always full of stuff that has to sit upon them. But islands are big, and spacious, and empty. They're workspaces that are dedicated workspaces, not something to clear off every time you need it. And it's mineallmine.
Mine.
These pictures were taken the first couple days we lived in the house (now it's been almost a month, although only about 1/3 of our belongings are actually in the house yet), when nothing ws really put away. I will take some more detailed pictures, to give a thorough tour of My Room. (the cat also has her own room, although Clint hasn't chosen one yet- probably the sunroom, which will have the tv, PS2 and card/boardgame table).
We're very happy to be there, as you can see. Also note the nice light fixture above the island: the previous owners kind of were chandelier people, so we have this one in the kitchen, kind of a similar style, but more formal, in the dining room, and another similar style/formalness in a lighter color in the screen porch. Not to mention the smaller, yet still notable, light fixtures in the hallways and living room (the ones in the bedroom appear to have been installed in the '70s... and we'll be changing those eventually).
Also note the glass cabinet: this is for our every day china. It's not in there yet, because right now our wine glasses are in those cabinets. We need to do some rearranging still.
My island. :) It's much less covered in stuff right now, I'm trying to have it only have a cutting board (the glass one that you see in this photo) and a bowl of fruit. Where you see the green plastic bag with cereal: that is this interesting little shelf, presumably for large electronics, such as a stand mixer, or blender, etc. There's another shelf on the other side, which Pansy claimed as her spot- so her food goes there. (I was pleased that she claimed it, since I'd planned to put her stuff there, anyway. but she hopped up and sat there often enough to prevent putting anything there- it's raised maybe 4 inches from the ground, and that's about how far off the ground she perfers to be.)
This is my oven. Nice and shiny... it's one of those glass cooktop electric stoves, so far, so good, but we're probably going to switch to gas at some point. We have gas heat/hot water, so it should be fairly straight-forward to switch. Someone has already claimed our oven. Oh.. hey, is there something in the oven?
Oh, it was a pork wellington, for our first meal together in our new house! (You have to try this recipe, if you like pork)
Pork Wellington (by Alton Brown)
a 1lb pork tenderloin
4.5 oz of thinly-sliced prosciutto
1-2oz dried apples, finely diced or chopped in a mini food processor
salt and pepper
1t chopped fresh thyme
1T whole-grain mustard
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
flour to roll out pastry
egg and water for egg wash
This pork tenderloin is stuffed with dried apples, wrapped in prosciutto and then wrapped in puff pastry. It's a serious entree.
Slice into the pork tenderloin (lengthwise) almost all the way through. Stuff in the inside with the dried apples, and fold closed. On a sheet of parchment paper, lay the prosciutto out, overlapping the pieces, to make a column slightly longer than the tenderloin, and wide enough to wrap around the tenderloin. Place the tenderloin on top of the prosciutto, and using the parchment paper, wrap the prosciutto tightly around the pork. Roll out the thawed puff pastry to be longer than the tenderloin, and spread down the middle (lengthwise) with mustard, and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Place the tenderloin on top of the puff pastry, and wrap the pastry around it, folding it under at the ends. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash (one egg + 1T water)- or not, but it's prettier with the egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 400oF oven for 25-30 minutes, until the middle of the pork reads 140oF on a meat thermometer. I baked this in a parchment-lined 9x13 glass dish, and I'd recommend baking it in a roasting pan with a rack- my pastry got a little soggy from the juices from the pork.
And you don't need to serve it with anything, it's amazing on its own. (I just added a simple salad and steamed asparagus)
Our move has all the usual closing date frustration and utilities not working, which I could share, but the only pertinent bit about our house is
I HAVE MY OWN KITCHEN.
It's a lovely kitchen. The appliances are all fairly new (extremely new and fancy and shiny, compared to my condo), there is a decent amount of storage space (the pantry's paltry, but we can work around it), and I have an island. Oh, how I love islands. Regular countertops tend to be fairly shallow, and always full of stuff that has to sit upon them. But islands are big, and spacious, and empty. They're workspaces that are dedicated workspaces, not something to clear off every time you need it. And it's mineallmine.
Mine.These pictures were taken the first couple days we lived in the house (now it's been almost a month, although only about 1/3 of our belongings are actually in the house yet), when nothing ws really put away. I will take some more detailed pictures, to give a thorough tour of My Room. (the cat also has her own room, although Clint hasn't chosen one yet- probably the sunroom, which will have the tv, PS2 and card/boardgame table).
We're very happy to be there, as you can see. Also note the nice light fixture above the island: the previous owners kind of were chandelier people, so we have this one in the kitchen, kind of a similar style, but more formal, in the dining room, and another similar style/formalness in a lighter color in the screen porch. Not to mention the smaller, yet still notable, light fixtures in the hallways and living room (the ones in the bedroom appear to have been installed in the '70s... and we'll be changing those eventually).Also note the glass cabinet: this is for our every day china. It's not in there yet, because right now our wine glasses are in those cabinets. We need to do some rearranging still.
My island. :) It's much less covered in stuff right now, I'm trying to have it only have a cutting board (the glass one that you see in this photo) and a bowl of fruit. Where you see the green plastic bag with cereal: that is this interesting little shelf, presumably for large electronics, such as a stand mixer, or blender, etc. There's another shelf on the other side, which Pansy claimed as her spot- so her food goes there. (I was pleased that she claimed it, since I'd planned to put her stuff there, anyway. but she hopped up and sat there often enough to prevent putting anything there- it's raised maybe 4 inches from the ground, and that's about how far off the ground she perfers to be.)This is my oven. Nice and shiny... it's one of those glass cooktop electric stoves, so far, so good, but we're probably going to switch to gas at some point. We have gas heat/hot water, so it should be fairly straight-forward to switch. Someone has already claimed our oven. Oh.. hey, is there something in the oven?Oh, it was a pork wellington, for our first meal together in our new house! (You have to try this recipe, if you like pork)Pork Wellington (by Alton Brown)
a 1lb pork tenderloin
4.5 oz of thinly-sliced prosciutto
1-2oz dried apples, finely diced or chopped in a mini food processor
salt and pepper
1t chopped fresh thyme
1T whole-grain mustard
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
flour to roll out pastry
egg and water for egg wash
This pork tenderloin is stuffed with dried apples, wrapped in prosciutto and then wrapped in puff pastry. It's a serious entree.
Slice into the pork tenderloin (lengthwise) almost all the way through. Stuff in the inside with the dried apples, and fold closed. On a sheet of parchment paper, lay the prosciutto out, overlapping the pieces, to make a column slightly longer than the tenderloin, and wide enough to wrap around the tenderloin. Place the tenderloin on top of the prosciutto, and using the parchment paper, wrap the prosciutto tightly around the pork. Roll out the thawed puff pastry to be longer than the tenderloin, and spread down the middle (lengthwise) with mustard, and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Place the tenderloin on top of the puff pastry, and wrap the pastry around it, folding it under at the ends. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash (one egg + 1T water)- or not, but it's prettier with the egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 400oF oven for 25-30 minutes, until the middle of the pork reads 140oF on a meat thermometer. I baked this in a parchment-lined 9x13 glass dish, and I'd recommend baking it in a roasting pan with a rack- my pastry got a little soggy from the juices from the pork.
And you don't need to serve it with anything, it's amazing on its own. (I just added a simple salad and steamed asparagus)
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Wedding Cheese Tasting
Doesn't everyone get excited for this? Tasting cheese varieties to potentially serve at one's wedding. Maybe it's just me.
I'm very pleased to say I now have a dairy guy. A dairier? A dairer? Maybe just a dairy farmer. There's a farm in Granby that makes amazing chevre- readers of this blog may be familiar with my undying love for chevre. This particular farmer (farmers, really, it's a family operation) is more local than the word "local" can describe- the milk and cheese he produces are from cows partially fed on things grown on my grandma's land (since we're definitely not farmers, farming being done outdoors, etc).
We went to visit the farm and bought quite a bit of stuff from their cheese shop... including 3 varieties of flavored chevre as possible wedding cheeses. I've tried cranberry (good), orange honey (kind of bland, but still good) and apricot maple (the current winner). I'm going to place an order from Dorothy for some sort of really fat, 150-person reception-sized block of chevre. I may be more excited about the wedding cheese than about the wedding cake!
I'm very pleased to say I now have a dairy guy. A dairier? A dairer? Maybe just a dairy farmer. There's a farm in Granby that makes amazing chevre- readers of this blog may be familiar with my undying love for chevre. This particular farmer (farmers, really, it's a family operation) is more local than the word "local" can describe- the milk and cheese he produces are from cows partially fed on things grown on my grandma's land (since we're definitely not farmers, farming being done outdoors, etc).
We went to visit the farm and bought quite a bit of stuff from their cheese shop... including 3 varieties of flavored chevre as possible wedding cheeses. I've tried cranberry (good), orange honey (kind of bland, but still good) and apricot maple (the current winner). I'm going to place an order from Dorothy for some sort of really fat, 150-person reception-sized block of chevre. I may be more excited about the wedding cheese than about the wedding cake!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Restaurant Recommendations
I went to a number of restaurants in central/eastern MA this weekend, and I want to recommend them all.
Bocado, in Worcester, MA
This is a tapas restaurant, the first tapas place I'd ever been to. I had the "Central Spain #2" wine flight, and I foolishly did not write down the three wines in this flight. One was a very fresh rose that seemed like the kind I'd want on a picnic, and the other 2 were very zesty reds, possibly reminscent of shiraz. My friends had the Navarro martini, which had lychee juice and possibly (based on the color), cranberry juice (very tasty), sangria (tasted just like my version of mulled cider, but cold and with red wine- delicious) and the mamasita (mango liqueur, vodka and pineapple juice). We had fried goat cheese with honey, almonds and quince paste (excellent); duck with balsamic glaze; a simple salad with manchego; kobe sliders; roasted tomato and artichoke salad (a warm salad) with a tomato/garlic sauce served over toasted baguette; chicken fritters; and crab empanadas. I must go back here.
Addis Red Sea on Tremont St in Boston, MA
EXCELLENT. We lucked out and got there before the crowds, so didn't have to wait. I'd never had ethiopian food before (I've had other African food, I think Kenyan-inspired, in NH at the farmer's market) so had never had the real experience of an Ethiopian restaurant. The food is served over injara bread on basically a giant tray. I had a spicy lamb dish with red pepper sauce, a friend had a different kind of lamb dish, and my fiance had a spicy fish dish. The bread is kind of like a cross between a crumpet and pita, and is lovely, soft and flavorful. For drinks we had a sweet red wine, a honey white wine, an Ethiopian lager and an Ethiopian stout. Everything was excellent, the only complaint I had was that my stomach was not big enough. I actually woke up the next morning wishing I'd taken the sauce-soaked bread home with me. For anyone who's never been to an Ethiopian restaurant before, you eat the curry-like dishes by scooping it up with the bread. No forks! So it can be a little messy, but it definitely worth it, even for a fussy girl like me.
J's Restaurant at Nashoba Winery, in Bolton, MA
I love Nashoba. I love doing their wine tastings (I have never had a wine I didn't want more of) and getting free glasses. I love buying cheese in their shop and eating it outside at the picnic tables. But on Sunday, my parents came up and we and my fiance had brunch.
The brunch had kind of a random assortment of foods, french toast, bacon and sausage like any regular Sunday brunch, but also salmon en croute (only... I never could find the croute, just some rice), mushroom calzone, seaweed salad, and a green salad with a giant side dish of roasted tomato, artichoke, olives and other antipasti type things. The dessert table included a selection of cheeses (bleu, brie, a local cheddar), bananas foster (a rare treat!) and a number of bite-sized sweets (raspberry tarts, super chocolatey brownies, blondies, and lemon tarts). They also serve all their wines at the restaurant, and have a variety of mixed drinks, like a mimosa and a madras (fortified cranberry wine and OJ).
The next thing I have to try there is a picnic lunch. You can call ahead and order a picnic lunch so you can "have the J's dining experience in a casual setting". I really like that idea, Nashoba is a great place for a picnic on a nice afternoon.
The Sole Proprietor, Worcester MA
Great seafood. I had lunch here a week ago, and checked out their dinner menu and knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, we went during lobster fest, and I'd had my heart so set on maple-glazed fried scallops that I didn't even consider a steamed lobster dinner for $17.99. oops!
My scallops were very tasty (the mashed sweet pot it came on was very stringy, rather odd). Fiance had salmon and shrimp that he seemed to enjoy, Dad had fish and chips that was "nearly as good as Lenny and Joe's" (the highest compliment any fish and chips can get from him) and Mom had a chilled lobster with shrimp cocktail. The cocktail sauce was excellent.
Fiance and I also had house salads to start, and I really need to recommend everyone to try the teriyaki, orange and sesame dressing. I need to find a recipe for this after trying it. Fiance had some sort of creamy peppercorn (or parmesean?) dressing that was almost as good, I had to have both of ours (luckily, we always order it on the side).
So, come to the Worcester or Boston area, and have some good food. (and you know Boston has far more good restaurants than the one I've mentioned here... I need to get out there more often and partake in the deliciousness).
Bocado, in Worcester, MA
This is a tapas restaurant, the first tapas place I'd ever been to. I had the "Central Spain #2" wine flight, and I foolishly did not write down the three wines in this flight. One was a very fresh rose that seemed like the kind I'd want on a picnic, and the other 2 were very zesty reds, possibly reminscent of shiraz. My friends had the Navarro martini, which had lychee juice and possibly (based on the color), cranberry juice (very tasty), sangria (tasted just like my version of mulled cider, but cold and with red wine- delicious) and the mamasita (mango liqueur, vodka and pineapple juice). We had fried goat cheese with honey, almonds and quince paste (excellent); duck with balsamic glaze; a simple salad with manchego; kobe sliders; roasted tomato and artichoke salad (a warm salad) with a tomato/garlic sauce served over toasted baguette; chicken fritters; and crab empanadas. I must go back here.
Addis Red Sea on Tremont St in Boston, MA
EXCELLENT. We lucked out and got there before the crowds, so didn't have to wait. I'd never had ethiopian food before (I've had other African food, I think Kenyan-inspired, in NH at the farmer's market) so had never had the real experience of an Ethiopian restaurant. The food is served over injara bread on basically a giant tray. I had a spicy lamb dish with red pepper sauce, a friend had a different kind of lamb dish, and my fiance had a spicy fish dish. The bread is kind of like a cross between a crumpet and pita, and is lovely, soft and flavorful. For drinks we had a sweet red wine, a honey white wine, an Ethiopian lager and an Ethiopian stout. Everything was excellent, the only complaint I had was that my stomach was not big enough. I actually woke up the next morning wishing I'd taken the sauce-soaked bread home with me. For anyone who's never been to an Ethiopian restaurant before, you eat the curry-like dishes by scooping it up with the bread. No forks! So it can be a little messy, but it definitely worth it, even for a fussy girl like me.
J's Restaurant at Nashoba Winery, in Bolton, MA
I love Nashoba. I love doing their wine tastings (I have never had a wine I didn't want more of) and getting free glasses. I love buying cheese in their shop and eating it outside at the picnic tables. But on Sunday, my parents came up and we and my fiance had brunch.
The brunch had kind of a random assortment of foods, french toast, bacon and sausage like any regular Sunday brunch, but also salmon en croute (only... I never could find the croute, just some rice), mushroom calzone, seaweed salad, and a green salad with a giant side dish of roasted tomato, artichoke, olives and other antipasti type things. The dessert table included a selection of cheeses (bleu, brie, a local cheddar), bananas foster (a rare treat!) and a number of bite-sized sweets (raspberry tarts, super chocolatey brownies, blondies, and lemon tarts). They also serve all their wines at the restaurant, and have a variety of mixed drinks, like a mimosa and a madras (fortified cranberry wine and OJ).
The next thing I have to try there is a picnic lunch. You can call ahead and order a picnic lunch so you can "have the J's dining experience in a casual setting". I really like that idea, Nashoba is a great place for a picnic on a nice afternoon.
The Sole Proprietor, Worcester MA
Great seafood. I had lunch here a week ago, and checked out their dinner menu and knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, we went during lobster fest, and I'd had my heart so set on maple-glazed fried scallops that I didn't even consider a steamed lobster dinner for $17.99. oops!
My scallops were very tasty (the mashed sweet pot it came on was very stringy, rather odd). Fiance had salmon and shrimp that he seemed to enjoy, Dad had fish and chips that was "nearly as good as Lenny and Joe's" (the highest compliment any fish and chips can get from him) and Mom had a chilled lobster with shrimp cocktail. The cocktail sauce was excellent.
Fiance and I also had house salads to start, and I really need to recommend everyone to try the teriyaki, orange and sesame dressing. I need to find a recipe for this after trying it. Fiance had some sort of creamy peppercorn (or parmesean?) dressing that was almost as good, I had to have both of ours (luckily, we always order it on the side).
So, come to the Worcester or Boston area, and have some good food. (and you know Boston has far more good restaurants than the one I've mentioned here... I need to get out there more often and partake in the deliciousness).
Found: on special at Shaw's
Lately I've been stopping at the grocery store after Zumba class. It's extremely convenient, the dance studio is right in back of Shaw's. Also, I tend to buy more fresh and healthy foods after an intense workout.
Last week, I saw cherries were on sale. I added them to the strawberries I've been eating (averaging about 3lbs a week... I hope ODing on strawberries has no adverse effects). They looked beautiful, and were a really good price. However, they had no flavor at all. I was really disappointed!
So I turned them into ice cream, and I have to say, this is about my best batch yet.
Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream
approx. 1.5lbs of cherries, destemmed and pitted
3T sugar
2T (yes, tablespoons) vanilla
In a wide fry pan or wok, start to simmer cherries. Sprinkle sugar over, and cook until they start to soften. Add the vanilla, cook until the liquid turns into a syrup. Let cool. Puree about 2/3s of the cherries and leave the rest whole.
3 cups 2% milk
scant 2/3 cup sugar
8 egg yolks
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, scald milk. Meanwhile, combine yolks and sugar, whisk together. Add about half of the scalded milk (ladle slowly, ladleful by ladleful) to egg/sugar mixture, then add back to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened, anywhere between 3 and 8 minutes. It won't thicken much, just enough to notice, and you definitely don't want the eggs to scramble.
Remove from heat, strain and add the cherry puree. Let chill (I usually put it in the fridge, but today I was too impatient, so made an ice water bath, which worked rather well, so I suggest an ice water bath).
Whip out your handy-dandy ice cream maker, and start it up according to the directions. When the custard/cherry puree mixture is just about done, slowly add in the whole cherries. Freeze a couple more hours, until it's the proper ice cream consistency, or, if you can't wait, set aside a small bowl to taste immediately. This is good.
(the recipe I followed for this was adapted from the basic gelato recipe that came with my Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker, and I made up the cherry part as I went.)
Last week, I saw cherries were on sale. I added them to the strawberries I've been eating (averaging about 3lbs a week... I hope ODing on strawberries has no adverse effects). They looked beautiful, and were a really good price. However, they had no flavor at all. I was really disappointed!
So I turned them into ice cream, and I have to say, this is about my best batch yet.
Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream
approx. 1.5lbs of cherries, destemmed and pitted
3T sugar
2T (yes, tablespoons) vanilla
In a wide fry pan or wok, start to simmer cherries. Sprinkle sugar over, and cook until they start to soften. Add the vanilla, cook until the liquid turns into a syrup. Let cool. Puree about 2/3s of the cherries and leave the rest whole.
3 cups 2% milk
scant 2/3 cup sugar
8 egg yolks
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, scald milk. Meanwhile, combine yolks and sugar, whisk together. Add about half of the scalded milk (ladle slowly, ladleful by ladleful) to egg/sugar mixture, then add back to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened, anywhere between 3 and 8 minutes. It won't thicken much, just enough to notice, and you definitely don't want the eggs to scramble.
Remove from heat, strain and add the cherry puree. Let chill (I usually put it in the fridge, but today I was too impatient, so made an ice water bath, which worked rather well, so I suggest an ice water bath).
Whip out your handy-dandy ice cream maker, and start it up according to the directions. When the custard/cherry puree mixture is just about done, slowly add in the whole cherries. Freeze a couple more hours, until it's the proper ice cream consistency, or, if you can't wait, set aside a small bowl to taste immediately. This is good.
(the recipe I followed for this was adapted from the basic gelato recipe that came with my Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker, and I made up the cherry part as I went.)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Food, overdue
Last weekend D and I went for sushi and drinks, because we like both sushi and drinks.
Clockwise from top: avocado maki, sunset California roll, Lebanon roll (spicy tuna and cucumber, tempura-ed with house spicy sauce), Philadelphia roll. In a boat.
In other food news, I made a ginger banana bread on Monday, brought it in on Tuesday, and it was devoured in 24 hours. I haven't cooked much other than that, as I've been busy with wedding-related crafting.
Clockwise from top: avocado maki, sunset California roll, Lebanon roll (spicy tuna and cucumber, tempura-ed with house spicy sauce), Philadelphia roll. In a boat.In other food news, I made a ginger banana bread on Monday, brought it in on Tuesday, and it was devoured in 24 hours. I haven't cooked much other than that, as I've been busy with wedding-related crafting.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Happy Caramel Corn Day!
Today is National Caramel Corn Day!
wamozart12 will celebrate by adding caramel corn to her yogurt, cheese, strawberries, bread, eggs shopping list tonight.
In completely unrelated news, I have some recipes to share. These include some "secrets"- which aren't exactly secrets, but rather, super easy recipes I hardly consider a recipe, yet get rave reviews time and time again. Enjoy!
wamozart12 will celebrate by adding caramel corn to her yogurt, cheese, strawberries, bread, eggs shopping list tonight.
In completely unrelated news, I have some recipes to share. These include some "secrets"- which aren't exactly secrets, but rather, super easy recipes I hardly consider a recipe, yet get rave reviews time and time again. Enjoy!
Tomato Tart
Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes, sliced into thin rounds
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
3-4T mustard
2/3-3/4 cup grated cheese (gruyere works well)
Roll out puff pastry to thin it out a bit, and to fit on a large sheet pan. Spread mustard over pastry, arrange tomatoes, and cover evenly with grated cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown, in a preheated 400oF oven. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
***
Pear and Blue Cheese tart
Ingredients:
2 pears, sliced in to very thin wedges
3t crumbled blue cheese
1/4cup pecans or candied pecans, crushed
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
Roll out puff pastry to thin it out a bit. Cut into 2 long rectangles, score edges 1/2inch in from the edge, and using a fork, pierce 2 columns down the middle. Bake for 10 minutes at 400oF, removing pastry before it begins to brown.
On each rectangle, arrange pear slices decoratively (fans, or overlap the slices in a long row down the length of the pastry, for example). Sprinkle with blue cheese to taste, and then with pecans. Bake for 5-10 minutes more at 400oF, until pastry begins to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
***
Mango dip
Good as an appetizer with crackers or baguette, or for breakfast on an english muffin
1 8oz package of cream cheese (regular or low-fat), room temperature
1/3cup mango chutney
Combine ingredients, beat until well-combined. Store in the fridge.
***
Catherine’s Cosmopolitans
makes 1 serving or 1 pitcher
2 parts vodka
1 part triple sec
1 part lime juice
4 parts cranberry juice
Combine all with ice, serve with a lime wedge as garnish.
***
Catherine’s non-alcoholic tropical cosmos
4 parts cranberry juice
2 parts pineapple juice
1 part lime juice
2 parts ginger ale, club soda or sprite
Combine all with ice, garnish with a lime wedge to serve.
***
Tomato mozzarella skewers with fig-balsamic reduction
Cherry tomatoes
Small mozzarella balls (about the time of a cherry tomato)
Fresh basil leaves
Fig balsamic reduction (recipe below)
Bamboo skewers
Arrange ingredients on a skewer: a good combination is tomato-mozzarella-basil-tomato. Arrange all skewers on a serving plate, drizzle with fig-balsamic reduction.
Fig-balsamic reduction
8 dried black mission figs, chopped finely
1 cup balsamic vinegar
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, cook over very low heat until reduced by 1/3, 20-40 minutes (depending on individual stoves). Be sure not to let vinegar burn.
Store in refrigerator, stays good for quite a long time. Also delicious as a salad dressing (and fat free!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)